Compete

Welcome to the 2015 Rice University Business Plan Competition (“RBPC”). We appreciate your interest in participating in this year’s event, hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University.

Forty-two teams will be invited to compete in the 2015 RBPC at Rice University. Last year's teams competed for nearly $3 million in prizes, including $2 million in investment offers, more than $330,000 in other cash prizes, and nearly $500,000 in in-kind awards. Teams will have the opportunity to meet and network with over 250 venture capital principals, early stage investors, and successful entrepreneurs who will serve as judges for the competition.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Qualification to participate in the RBPC is determined by the criteria outlined in the Executive Summary section and by meeting the deadlines below.

How to Enter

The RBPC uses the iStart platform to manage applications. To enter, one individual from the team should complete the online enrollment form found at rbpc2015.istart.org. In addition to the iStart Business Setup information, the Application and Executive Summary must be completed no later than Noon CST, Friday, February 27, 2015.

Note: Schools may submit an unlimited number of entries, but typically only 1-2 teams per school will be invited to compete. (Exceptions to this guideline may be made on a case-by-case basis.) In the case of multiple entries from the same university, RBPC will choose the team(s) to represent that university at the Competition.

All teams that complete an Application will receive a free 6 month subscription to Live Plan by Palo Alto Software. Instructions for your subscription will be provided after receiving your completed Application.

If a confirmed team DROPS OUT AFTER MARCH 18, 2015 at 5:00 pm CDT FOR ANY REASON, their school will be ineligible to compete in the RBPC and approximately 25 affiliated university business plan competitions for two years. In addition, a letter will be sent to their faculty advisor and to the Dean of their School informing them of their university representative’s failure to honor their commitment, and of their school’s disqualification for the next two years. Spaces are limited at the RBPC, and a last minute cancellation will prevent another university from competing.

• Use of Conference Materials: The Rice Alliance reserves the right to use any material prepared for the RBPC in publicizing and promoting the event. The Rice Alliance may use these materials in any printed materials and any videotape or other medium that it may produce. The Rice Alliance may videotape any portion of the Competition and utilize these tapes in any way that its sees fit.

• Entry Fees: The RBPC does not have an entry fee.

• Changes to Competition Rules: While not anticipated, these rules and prizes are subject to change at the discretion of the Rice Alliance at any time. The Rice Alliance staff has the right to interpret these rules according to its own judgment.

• Decisions regarding the Competition and the Winners: All decisions regarding the competition rules, procedures, and processes are at the sole discretion of the Rice Alliance. Changes and/or interpretations of these rules may be made by the Rice Alliance at any time, even though they may be (or may appear to be) in conflict some previously published information. The selection of the teams to compete and the decision of the winners are at the sole discretion of the judges and the Rice Alliance. Best efforts will be made to make decisions in accordance with this Official Rules document.